A new study, published today, calls for tens of thousands of redundant dams and other barriers to be removed to help restore rivers and lakes – boosting wildlife populations and benefiting communities across the continent.

France’s Minister of the Environment Nicolas Hulot has approved the removal of two large hydropower plants. The river Sélune in Normandy will be freed of the 35m high Vezin dam as well as the 15 m high Roche-Qui-Boit dam. Demolition works will start in Spring 2018. This reconnects 90 kilometer of watercourse, facilitating free passage for salmons, eels and many other species.

“Rivers probably are the most endangered habitat of all, but also they are one of the best habitats for restoring. A good restoration project can increase the fish populations very fast if the remaining densities are not too low” Since 2010 the Duero River Basin Authority has removed more than 115 barriers, reconnecting more than 700 km of rivers. Watch their clip!

Riverwatch – a society for the protection of rivers based in Vienna – is looking for a project coordinator (25h) for a de-damming initiative. This campaign aims to analyze hydropower projects in Central and Eastern Europe and to determine which ones are to be removed due to ecological and/or economic reasons. With this campaign we are trying to implement the de-damming movement, which is already well- established in the US, to Europe.

While 2700 new dams are being projected to be built in the Balkans, such mistakes are being corrected in the US - dams are being removed one by one. Watch what happens to the Elwah river system after the largest dam removal in US history! Hopefully, the renaturation of this river will serve as shining example for the removal of many more dam.

While 2700 dams are projected to be built between Slovenia and Albania, dams are being torn down one after another in the US in order to restore their rivers. Now, the removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River has been approved, rendering it the biggest dam removal project in history.